Page 15 of Snowman

When I returned to the bedroom, I tore off my red coat that was hanging over one of the hooks in the wardrobe. Before, it carried a faint, humble smell of fresh rain and wet leaves, gently mixing with the sharp taste of detergent. Now, as I slid its weight over my hunched shoulders, the mass settled heavily around me, smelling of the sweet escape outside.

I caught myself hesitating for just a moment as I passed by Mel. I repeated, "I'm coming back," not particularly sure if she heard me.

In the living room, they barely looked up as I crossed toward the door. Again, their low murmurs resumed, muffled only by the thudding of my heart. None of them asked where and why. It was just like I was invisible, some sort of passing shadow that flickered for a brief moment.

The front door groaned as I opened it; a wave of cold air entered, so sharp, so crisp. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply to fill my lungs with that clean, biting chill. As I exhaled, thetension in me seemed a fraction lighter, as some weight lifted from my chest.

I stepped into the yard, boots crunching on the snow path. The house shrank behind me as I followed the narrow trail leading into the woods. Bare branches stretched overhead, clawing at the gray sky like skeletal fingers. As it was, with every step taken, that tightness inside my chest started to soften.

Breathing had also started to become easy now. Here, with the quiet and the trees around me, I finally felt free. Free to breathe. Free to think.

Thirty minutes must have passed, and the sun was now brighter, its rays bouncing off the snow. Ahead, there was this thick gnarled branch lying on the ground half-submerged in the ice. I walked to it and sat down, feeling the cold right through my coat as I let my breath out in a long sigh.

The woods stretched around me, almost endless, their silence pushing against my ears. I was alone, just a girl in a red coat in a vast expanse of white.

It seeped into me—the stillness. No pretending here, no mask to wear, no lying to myself. Just the void, the loneliness. For a moment, it felt like peace.

But then something moved.

It was subtle, just a flicker in the corner of my eye. My chest tightened and I stood abruptly, my boots crunching the snow. I spun in place, scanning the shadows in between the trees.

"Who's there?" I called, my voice sharper than I expected. The sound echoed into the woods, swallowed quickly by the thick silence.

No one answered but I was not alone—I could sense it. My breathing grew quicker as a wild thought entered my mind.

"Snowman?" I called, half-expecting, half-fearing a response.

And then, laughter. Low and mocking, it rolled from behind me, shearing the air like a knife.

"Guess again," a voice said.

I spun around, the pulse pounding in my ears. The endless woods stretched out in every direction, yet I couldn't pinpoint which direction it came from.

"Who's there?" I called, picking up the branch I'd been sitting on and clenching it above me like a weapon. My hands shook as hard as I clutched it. It was silly, I knew, but that was the best I had.

Another voice joined in, this one more teasing, almost playful. "Are you lost?"

"Show yourself!" I shouted, my throat tightening.

There was a rustling, and then two of them came from behind a sturdy tree trunk. One threw the other a shove for good measure before stepping forward. He seemed tall, about my age, actually, with ginger hair that picked up the sun and wearing a smirk that stretched too wide across his freckled face. His confidence unnerved me.

"You must be the new girl," he said, then put a hand to his chest in mock chivalry and gave a shallow bow. "I'm Vic."

The other figure came closer, shorter and stockier, the beanie yanked low over his head. The jacket was hanging loose over hisframe, and the zipper was open despite this cold. He grinned, you could see his breath in the crisp air.

"And I'm Josh,my lady," he said in a voice dripping with sarcasm as he parodied Vic's dramatic gesture.

Vic laughed, but Josh pulled something from his pocket, holding it out to me. A hand-rolled cigarette, crumpled and stained at the tip. "Want a smoke?"

I instinctively stepped back, wrinkling my nose in distaste. "No," I said more firmly than was maybe required. "Thanks."

I turned my back to them, my feet crunching in the snow as I began to walk away. But their laughter followed me, low and insistent, working its way under my skin. I quickened my pace, but so did they.

"Where are you going?" one of them called out. Their footsteps crunched louder,closer.

The knot in my stomach twisted tighter. I didn't need to look back to know they were following me. My pulse thundered in my ears as their chuckles turned to whispers, their tones no longer playful but darker.

I broke into a run.

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